61-year-old man takes postgraduate entrance exam

Zhang Shanxue, 61, took the National Entrance Examination for Postgraduate (NEEP) which opened Saturday in Jinan. This is the fourth time for him to battles for an ideal university to achieve his “University Dream”, and set a model for his family, relatives and friends.

Zhang Shanxue is a retired English teacher in Pingyuan village in Shandong province. 40 years ago, Zhang became a farmer after graduation from high school, because the university entrance examination was not available at the time due to the Cultural Revolution. One year after the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, Zhang took the college entrance examination again and was admitted to university, but due to marriage reason, he did not enter university.

His outstanding performance in college entrance examination won him a job as teacher. He has been working in a middle school as an English teacher in Pingyuan village. By virtue of the “university dream”, he has obtained three teaching certificates in the past years.

After retirement, Zhang believes the meaningful and profitable retirement is rather than idle life. He is full of passion for study, and his spirit prompts him to take NEEP to realize his dream.

To prepare for the exam, Zhang gets up early in the morning everyday to attend the training course in Jinan. In spare time, he established a training center in the city to teach children English.

He also keeps studying acupuncture and hopes to be a specialist in this field. So he registers for the acupuncture major in Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.